Italian lira
|banknotes-image= (1985 Series) |coins-image= (1993 Europa Series) |caption= 50 Lira coins |ISO= |users= * ItalyCampione d'Italia is excluded. * San Marino * Vatican City * Albania (1941-1943) |years= 1862http://www.cilibertoribera.it/indexLIRA%20Storia%20e%20curiosit%C3%A0.htm–[[2002]] |pegged = Dollar |inflation= 2.3% (2001) http://www.worldwide-tax.com/italy/ita_infl.asp |subunit= 1/100 Centesimo (dropped in 1946) |symbol= ₤, L., Lit |coins= 1 c.Dropped in 1924., 2 c.Dropped in 1917., 5 c., 10 c.Dropped in 1943.,20 c.Dropped in 1943., 25 c.Dropped in 1903., 50 c.Dropped in 1943. 1Dropped in 1959., 2Dropped in 1959., 5Dropped in 1957., 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 lira |banknotes= 50 c., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 (all dropped in 1946), 500Replaced by a bimetallic coin in 1982., 1000Replaced by a bimetallic coin in 1997., 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 lira |central bank= Bank of Italy |mint=Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato }} The Italian lira ( : Lira italiana; sign: ₤; code: ) was the currency of Italy. Until 1946, it was divided into 100 centesimi. It was adopted in 1862 and used until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. History In 1861, coins were minted in Florence, Milan, Naples and Turin in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 centesimi, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lire, with the lowest four in copper, the highest two in gold and the remainder in silver. In 1863, silver coins below 5 lire were debased from 90% to 83.5% and silver 20 centesimo coins were introduced. Minting switched to Rome in the 1870s. In 1919, with a purchase power of the lira reduced to 1/5 of that of 1914, the production of all earlier coin types except for the nickel 20 centesimi halted, and smaller, copper 5 and 10 centesimi and nickel 50 centesimi coins were introduced, followed by nickel 1 and 2 lire pieces in 1922 and 1923, respectively. In 1926, silver 5 and 10 lire coins were introduced, equal in size and composition to the earlier 1 and 2 lire coins. Silver 20 lire coins were added in 1927. In 1936, the last substantial issue of silver coins was made, whilst, in 1939, moves to reduce the cost of the coinage lead to copper being replaced by aluminium bronze and nickel by stainless steel. All issuance of coinage came to a halt in 1943. In 1946 coin production was resumed, although only in 1948, with the purchasing power of the lira reduced to 2% of that of 1939, numbers minted exceed 1 million. To begin with, four denominations were issued in aluminium, 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire: these coins were in circulation together with the AM-lire and some of the old, devalued coins of the Italian Kingdom. In 1951, the government decided to replace all the circulating coins and bills with new smaller-sized 1, 2The 2 lire coin was not minted in 1951 and 1952., 5 and 10 aluminium lire and in 1954–1955, Acmonital (stainless-steel) 50 and 100 lire coins were introduced, followed by aluminium-bronze 20 lire in 1957 and silver 500 lire in 1958. Increases in the silver bullion price led to the 500 lire coins being produced only in small numbers for collectors after 1967. The 500 lire (and later the 1000 lire) also appeared in a number of commemorative coin issues, such as the centennial of Italian unification in 1961. In 1977, aluminium-bronze 200 lire coins were introduced, followed in 1982 by the bimetallic 500 lire. This was the first bi-metallic coin to be produced for circulation, minted using a system patented by IPZS. It was also the first to feature the value in brailleKrause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.. Gallery 5 Italian Liras 1944.JPG|5 Liras banknote, issued in 1944. 5000 ITL Banknote.jpg|5000 Liras banknote, issued in 1985. Related currencies * Sammarinese lira * Vatican lira * Am-lira * Tripolitanian lira * Trieste lira * Ljubljana lira Exchange rates References Category:Currencies of Italy Category:Currencies with an ISO 4217 code Category:Italian lira Category:Obsolete currencies